Morris: Life With Bells On review

This Is Spinal Bells. Jingle jangle.

Morris dancing is an enduring source of both national pride and embarrassment, and this mockumentary can't decide whether it's a warm tribute or an attempt to stick the boot in. Following the travails of Derecq Twist (scripter Charles Thomas Oldham), the leader of a dance troupe whose innovations get him disbarred from the oh-so-conservative Morris Circle, Lucy Ackhurst's film mixes in interviews with some fusty and eccentric talking heads - including Derek Jacobi as the head of the Circle, an overzealous guardian of time-worn tradition.

Trouble is, the jokes are lead-footed, and Aidan McArdle, playing the documentary maker, deadpans irritatingly every step of the way.